Bodies found in W.Va.

Two people were found dead Wednesday afternoon inside a house along Paynes Ford Road, and their deaths are being investigated as a double homicide, Berkeley County Sheriff Randy Smith said.

The bodies were found by a family friend who stopped by the house at 1734 Paynes Ford Road, Smith said.

Police were notified at 4:15 p.m.

Smith said the bodies were found in the house, although he could not disclose where the bodies were found or how the people might have died.

"We're still in the early stages of the investigation," Smith said.

Smith said a car is missing from the house and he is asking for the public's help in finding it. A gun apparently was stolen from the house and the person who took the car should be considered to be armed and dangerous, Smith said.

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The car is described as a dark green 1993 Mazda MX-6 with tinted glass. The car has factory wheels with the center caps missing and has a West Virginia tag number of 5EF-150, Smith said.

Anyone with information about the car may call the sheriff's department at 304-267-7000.

The house where the bodies were found is a short distance east of the intersection of Paynes Ford Road and Airport Road. The house is south of Martinsburg, near the community of Pikeside.

The house is a light-colored, one-story structure. Several cars, including two older Ford Mustangs, were parked in back of the home Wednesday.

Officials stretched yellow tape around the property, and police and bystanders gathered in front of the house Wednesday evening.

Inside the cordoned-off area, investigators examined items in the yard, including what appeared to be a red canvas bag under the edge of a pine tree.

Smith said late Wednesday that he could not release the names of the victims because next of kin had not been notified. Officials were preparing to remove the bodies Wednesday night, Smith said.

Sal Campos, who lives next door, said he saw the 1993 Mazda MX-6 which police are looking for driving away from the house about 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Campos said a father and his son live in the house. The father is Ray White and the son is Ray White Jr., Campos said.

Campos said Ray White, who is about 70 years old, has talked about selling the house and moving to Florida.

Ray White Jr. is 20 and often has friends visiting him at the house, Campos said.

Campos said one of the last signs of activity he noticed at the house was a group of people shooting guns for target practice off a rear deck about 4 p.m. Tuesday.

On Aug. 24, Debbie K. Bivens was found dead in her home in the Camelot subdivision east of Inwood, W.Va. At the time, police said preliminary indications suggested that Bivens was shot from outside her bedroom window.